Anyone know about Opae'ula/Red Volcanic/ Hawaiian shrimp?

[sed03f]

These are the cutest little guys. I was wondering if they would survive in an actual tank with a filter and regular water changes.

I've been looking them up, but there's not much information out there. One lady said NOT to change the water, and that they are brackish shrimp. I thought they could live in FW and SW.

 

[Fishy_Fun]

I have heard they are brackish water shrimp too.So a mix of SW & FW would be needed.i was thinking about getting some too but after finding they are not freshwater i decided not to

 

[msjinkzd]

I am fairly certain they are bw fish. I belive southerndesert has just gotten some recently to keep. Perhaps Bill will chime in here with his experiences.

 

[southerndesert]

I am Keeping Halocaridina Rubra... I have them in brackish water as mentioned with a SG of 1.014 and they are very active bright red little shrimp. They will actually live in water from full sea water to fresh water, but they breed the best it seems in 1.010 to 1.016 salinity. I have only had them a short while, but so far no problems.

I have MTS in with them to keep the sand churned, I acclimated them to the salt along with the 10 gallon well matured FW tank. Took a month or so to fully cycle and re-establish bacteria, but it went quite well.


There more about them here as well http://arizonainverts.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=91

 

[msjinkzd]

They are lovely Bill!

 

[BubbleBack_Ek9_]

Those are nice and nice tank Bill

 

[sed03f]

thats a beautiful shrimp you have there, southerndesert. is the lava rock necessary? I spoke with a breeder who told me not to change the water(or feed them), they live off bacteria. is this true? wont it get stinky? can i supplement other foods so I can keep the water clean?

 

[southerndesert]

The lava rock is to promote bacteria growth and I only feed once a week with powdered food. It is true that they feed mainly on bio film (bacteria) and from what others say that keep them water changes are not as critical as with our more common shrimp species. I so far have only done top offs with R/O water.

Bill

 

[sed03f]

good to know, what do you feed them? what kind of filter would they require?

 

[southerndesert]

If you look at the tank photo you will see I am running a simple air driven sponge filter, the food is a mix I make from several commercial foods ground up in a coffee grinder...

Cheers, Bill